As electronics become increasingly miniaturized, existing applications of electronic technology become more space efficient, and new applications of electronic technology become possible. For example, self-powered electronic devices continually become smaller and more space efficient, creating opportunities for new applications. This trend is demonstrated by implantable medical devices.
But self-powered devices could benefit further from reductions in the sizes of their power sources. Current applications do not supplement or replace power sources inside devices with available external energy sources. Energy could be gathered from external power sources so long as design changes do not reduce the useable energy available to a self-powered device, or negatively impact the rate at which energy is available.
One external energy source available in some applications is a thermal gradient. The tendency for heat to flow across a thermal gradient creates opportunities to generate energy. Some devices have used this phenomenon to generate electricity. But existing designs are not compatible with the size or power requirements of some self-powered implantable devices. Thus, what are needed are new thermoelectric power system designs compatible with these applications, which can supplement the energy available from traditional power sources.